AmigaOS 3.2 and beyond

[bubbob42]

Originally Posted by AMIGASYSTEM

Sorry, but I don't entirely agree with you, as main system I still prefer to use Os 3.9 BB4 + AfA OS

And that’s totally ok. We obviously have a different interpretation of „advanced“.

[AMIGASYSTEM]

Ok, when AfA OS can be installed, and when the GUIs are adjustable beyond what user Romanujan mentioned then OS.2 will become my main system.

[Romanujan]

Regarding Prefs - I have already posted about them: http://eab.abime.net/showpost.php?p=...postcount=1274 and http://eab.abime.net/showpost.php?p=...postcount=1280

Regarding Format and Calculator - ReAction versions look much better. Not to mention, that resizing option in Calculator is useful (it could just enlarge font together with buttons).

[AMIGASYSTEM]

On OS 3.9 all system applications have a gadget to adjust the size of the GUI, in my opinion very important especially if you open multiple GUI simultaneously.

[bubbob42]

Originally Posted by AMIGASYSTEM

On OS 3.9 all system applications have a gadget to adjust the size of the GUI, in my opinion very important especially if you open multiple GUI simultaneously.

That’s because they are Reaction GUIs, not GadTools.

Porting the Prefs to Reaction will require a lot of work and won’t be done for the sake of a resize gadget. It is however realistic that the Prefs will be converted step-by-step as new features might require expanding them.

[Minuous]

Actually I think he may be talking about the zoom gadget (which is not actually anything to do with ReAction)?

[AMIGASYSTEM]

I am referring to the 2 functions to adjust the GUIs, I attach video showing the two steps.

http://eab.abime.net/zone/GUI-3.9.avi

[Phantasm]

Is there a reason why the workbench environment (pre-installation environment) that you get when you boot from the CD can't be a full installation of workbench? If for some reason that isn't possible then a drawer with all the files available from all of the disks would be quite handy when you just need to get hold of some of the files - much easier than having to go digging around in the adf images. Just a thought for future releases.

[gulliver]

Originally Posted by Phantasm

Is there a reason why the workbench environment (pre-installation environment) that you get when you boot from the CD can't be a full installation of workbench? If for some reason that isn't possible then a drawer with all the files available from all of the disks would be quite handy when you just need to get hold of some of the files - much easier than having to go digging around in the adf images. Just a thought for future releases.

Yes, there is a very simple and practical reason: there is a wide range of Amiga hardware with lots of peculiarities, so to have a full installation from the get go would imply making default choices which would render many systems unusable (no matter the selection we make as default).

Furthermore, hardware auto-detection on Amiga is problematic and prone to errors. Add to that the fact that many hardware today requires some third party program to enable it and many times even an acrobatic workaround set by their designers.

Other problems certainly arrive when users face directories, and files and tend to use Microsoft Windows for example, to copy files directly from a CD-ROM, which ends up in file protection bits magically dissapearing and some file names being forbidden.

And don't get me started with editing Startup-sequence and/or User-Startup with editors that default to non-Amiga/Unix line endings or different text encoding. I have seen this more times than I can count when attending AmigaOS support requests. It is a neverending nightmare.

So, what AmigaPE (Amiga Preinstallation Environment) attempts to provide is a compatible and almost fail safe method
to boot on nearly all Amiga-like hardware to be able to perform some basic mainteance, partitioning/formatting and OS installation. It is a "safe" starting point for any user.

What could be done looking into the future is a more traditional wizard-style installation approach sitting on top of
AmigaPE.

In any case, the AmigaOS delivery format may most likely change in the future to keep up with the times. So the paradigm in this context is always shifting and we would eventually have to adjust to it.

[Phantasm]

thanks for the very detailed response

[paul1981]

I've read through the whole thread and I would like to thank the development team for their efforts.

There seems a few people obsessed with having it look like OS3.9 or better. Personally, I like and run my Workbench in 8 colours these days. I use the MagicWB palette with all original 4 colour icons. Or, on some of my other systems I use MagicWB icons exclusively. I'm not a fan of OS3.9. I like the OS3.0/3.1/2.x look and I like to build a system up from scratch, so I am in favour of a bug-fixed 3.1 version with enhancements. I just wanted the devs to know that there are users out there that like the retro look of the plain Commodore Amiga Workbench, and also MagicWB. I love topaz 8, I love the 640x256 proportion of topaz 8 and the Workbench gadgets and icons.
Having said that, I don't mind giving these other users a choice, but please don't take that choice away from me.
Also, I hope the OS will always be 68000 compatible, and tested for speed on 7MHz machines... I have a couple that shall remain 7MHz.

Oh, one more thing...do not change the Workbench icon format, I read many pages back that some people even wanted to get rid of icons all together for a Windows-like approach....I nearly puked when I read it and couldn't really believe that some Amiga fans wanted to do away with them. DefIcons is a hard enough pill to swallow for me!

[boemann]

Originally Posted by paul1981

I've read through the whole thread and I would like to thank the development team for their efforts.

There seems a few people obsessed with having it look like OS3.9 or better. Personally, I like and run my Workbench in 8 colours these days. I use the MagicWB palette with all original 4 colour icons. Or, on some of my other systems I use MagicWB icons exclusively. I'm not a fan of OS3.9. I like the OS3.0/3.1/2.x look and I like to build a system up from scratch, so I am in favour of a bug-fixed 3.1 version with enhancements. I just wanted the devs to know that there are users out there that like the retro look of the plain Commodore Amiga Workbench, and also MagicWB. I love topaz 8, I love the 640x256 proportion of topaz 8 and the Workbench gadgets and icons.
Having said that, I don't mind giving these other users a choice, but please don't take that choice away from me.
Also, I hope the OS will always be 68000 compatible, and tested for speed on 7MHz machines... I have a couple that shall remain 7MHz.

Oh, one more thing...do not change the Workbench icon format, I read many pages back that some people even wanted to get rid of icons all together for a Windows-like approach....I nearly puked when I read it and couldn't really believe that some Amiga fans wanted to do away with them. DefIcons is a hard enough pill to swallow for me!

Thanks

While I can't promise to defend every view you have I too use the old 4 color icons, but I have my wb at 640x512 32 colors. I like the retro feeling of the old OS but I also think changes and improvements to programs can be done without sacrificing the respect for the old. This balance is very much on our minds with everything we do.

The icon format is already a mixture of the classic old and a colorful extension. The glowicons are stored in that colorful extension of the .info files.

I too didn't like deficons to begin with but I must admit that after having used the system now for 2 years they are quite good for project files.

Anyway just wanted to let you know that we do want to protect the retro feeling.

[Daedalus]

I think DefIcons is great, and complements the original icon system just fine without interfering with it. It only comes into play when a file doesn't have a .info file associated with it. It can also be very easily disabled. Once it came along as part of OS 3.9, I quickly got used to it and found using a system without it quite annoying actually, since a lot of my Amiga use involves files from other systems, internet etc., none of which have Amiga icons.

[gulliver]

There is a nice easter egg in 3.2 waiting to be discovered.

No one found it yet?

[paul1981]

Originally Posted by boemann

I like the retro feeling of the old OS but I also think changes and improvements to programs can be done without sacrificing the respect for the old. This balance is very much on our minds with everything we do.
...
Anyway just wanted to let you know that we do want to protect the retro feeling.

That's great to hear. I know that AmigaOS is in good hands.

[AMIGASYSTEM]

Originally Posted by gulliver

There is a nice easter egg in 3.2 waiting to be discovered.

No one found it yet?

Are you referring to easter native OS 3.2 ?

I have installed easter that I use on my A FA One and it works fine

[tero]

Originally Posted by AMIGASYSTEM

Are you referring to easter native OS 3.2 ?

An easter egg is a hidden secret. A quote, a joke, a picture or even a minigame. It can be anything.

[Michael]

Originally Posted by tero

An easter egg is a hidden secret. A quote, a joke, a picture or even a minigame. It can be anything.

Nice hints, but it is neither of those on their own, but it is part of the amiga culture and possibly bigger.

[AMIGASYSTEM]

Originally Posted by tero

An easter egg is a hidden secret. A quote, a joke, a picture or even a minigame. It can be anything.

The translation fooled me, more than a surprise inside the raisin, I would say that this is a real "treasure hunt", an Italian saying

[bni]

Im very happy with 3.2 so far. I use it on my A1200 with a PCMCIA network card. Everything works fine as long as I have this in my Startup-Sequence:

FailAt 11
CardReset FORCE
FailAt 10

The FailAt workaround is there so it won't abort during boot in my other Amiga that does not have PCMCIA, when I use the same CF there.

Would be nice to not have to use CardReset in a future AmigaOS